EUREKA (March 15, 2025) – The 42^nd annual Humboldt County Doris Niles Science Fair was held last week, with more than 170 students in grades 4 – 8 collaborating on 140 projects. The projects were on display at the Sequoia Conference Center, and more than 70 judges assisted in selecting projects to send to the state competition.

Five projects were selected to go on to the California Science and Engineering Fair:

• “Protecting California’s Waterways” by Christine Kelley, a 6^th grader at Pacific Union School
• “A Pup Gets Up” by Cara West, a 6^th grader at Pacific Union School.
• “How Rainfall Affects Salinity in Coastal Lagoons” by Avery Hassler, a 7^th grader at Freshwater Charter Middle School.
• “Mushroom Diversity in our Coastal Dune Forests” by Sylas Kauffmann, a 7^th grader at Jacoby Creek School.
• “Mussel Mayhem: The impact on mussel acidification on mussel calcification” by Sofia Baker, an 8^th grader at Fortuna Middle School.

This year Katie Everett, Senior Engineer with CalTrans, was invited to walk the whole fair and see what she noticed about the science thinking of students in Humboldt County. These were some of her observations:

“Walking around and looking at all the presentations, the curiosity is about how and why things work. They are looking for ideas on how to improve baking and helping their small dog up a bunk bed, but also looking at larger scale solutions to environmental pollutants.

When one looks at the world through the scientific lens, there is no telling what can be learned and what advances can be made. Engineering, math, physical science, the young learners are asking questions, making hypotheses and then testing those hypotheses. The applications for lessons learned from small investigations can have great impacts on society and the world. Stay curious scholars!”

Superintendent of Schools Michael Davies-Hughes was on hand to announced the winners. In addition to recogizing the top projects in each grade, a number of special awards were given out. Many of these awards are sponsored by local organizations.

Doris Niles Award

• Leo Slauson, 7th grade , Jacoby Creek School, “Impact of Worms on the Growth of Plants”

Judge’s Choice Award

• Julian Agricola, 7th grade, Freshwater Charter Middle School, “Composting Creatures”

The Friends of the Arcata Marsh Awards

• 1st Place Award: Lela Caruso, 7th grade, Jacoby Creek School, “How Does Temperature Affect Dissolved Oxygen Levels?”
• 2nd Place Award: Paul Hawkins, 8th grade, Jacoby Creek School, “Biological Purification of Water”

The North Group Sierra Club Awards

• 1st place: Cedar Farrell, 6th grade, Garfield School, “It’s Not Just Lint: How Microplastics Are Entering Our Water Through Laundry”
• 2nd place: Christine Kelley, 6th grade, Pacific Union School “Protecting California’s Waterways”
• 3rd place: Callum Macdonald, 6th grade, Garfield, “Why Do Spruce Love Redwood? Don’t Be Stumped!”

Redwood Regional Audubon Society Award

• Ruby Williams, 8th, grade, Trinity Valley Elementary School, “Fuel Reduction”

Professional Engineerings in California Government Awards

• 1st place: Cara West, 6th grade, Pacific Union School “A Pup Gets Up”
• Honorable Mention: Dylan Moore, 8th grade, Hydesville School “The Breaking Point”
• Honorable Mention: Roisin Greene & Emma Pryor, 8th grade, North Coast Preparatory Academy, “Tortoise Bot”

Stillwater Sciences – Excellence in Environmental Sciences Award

• Christine Kelley, 6th grade, Pacific Union School “Protecting California’s Waterways”

The North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District Awards

• 4th Grade, Joseph Rivera, Redwood Preparatory Academy ,“Tumbling Minerals and Rocks”
• 5th Grade, Jude Vidargas, Garfield School, “More Clean Energy Means More Green”
• 6th Grade, Cara West, Pacific Union School “A Pup Gets Up”
• 7th Grade, Lela Caruso, Jacoby Creek School, “How Does Temperature Affect Dissolved Oxygen Levels?”
• 8th Grade, Ruby Williams, Trinity Valley Elementary School, “Fuel Reduction”

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Award

• Avery Hassler, 7th grade, Freshwater Middle Charter School “How Rainfall Affects Salinity in Coastal Lagoons”

North Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society

• Sylas Kauffmann 7th grade, Jacoby Creek School “Mushroom Diversity in our Coastal Dune Forests

For more information, please visit https://hcoe.org/science-fair/or contact the HCOE Science Fair Coordinator at sciencefair@hcoe.org .